


Chase The Night Away

by Oricalle



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crimson Flower, Domestic, Drabble, F/F, Fluff, Post-Canon, References to Edelgard's backstory, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22052194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oricalle/pseuds/Oricalle
Summary: Even years after the war, nightmares plague Edelgard.  Thankfully, she has a little help.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 10
Kudos: 208





	Chase The Night Away

Though the war had been over for nearly a decade now, and the last vestiges of Those Who Slither In the Dark scoured from Fodlan for at least half of that, Edelgard could not shake the nightmares that plagued her.

They came less often now, often a monthly occurrence instead of multiple times a week. Nevertheless, on some nights, even as she drifted off to sleep beneath the plush comforters of the imperial bedchambers, Edelgard would awake on cold stone, chains on her limbs and captors leering down like hawks. She knew by now that the episodes were not real, that they were simply tricks played by her cruelest memories, but even someone as rational as Edelgard couldn’t shake the terror the phantom sensations brought her.

The heat of their breath.

The strained screams of her siblings.

The way the rugged floor dug into her skin.

Most nights, the nightmares didn’t last long. As she began to tremble or whine in her sleep, her wife, evidently a light sleeper, would jostle her awake. The last icy remnants of despair would melt away in the warmth of Byleth’s hands. She would pull Edelgard close into her arms, holding her tight to her chest, and the gentle beating of Byleth’s heart was enough to drown out the fear, if only for a little while.

And so, when Byleth was called away for two weeks, to assist in the reopening of Garreg Mach to the public, Edelgard had to conceal her misgivings.

“I’ll be alright, El.” she had assured her. “Hubert’s coming with me, and so are twenty soldiers of House Vestra.”

“I know.” Edelgard replied, leaning against her wife’s shoulder. “It is foolish of me to think otherwise. But I suppose you have always had a talent for making me think foolishly.”

Byleth chuckled, a deep sound that made Edelgard’s heart beat a little faster. “I’ll miss you. And not just you, of course.” With a tilt of her head, Byleth indicated the two bedchambers down the hall. “Try and find some extra time for them, okay?”

“There’s not a minister in Adrestia who could take me away from reading to the twins, Byleth.” Edelgard nudged her wife with her forehead. “Now, off with you, dear. Or they’ll never let you leave.”

The days, even without Byleth, were typical for Edelgard. As Emperor, there was no end to the piles of paperwork to review, petitions to read, or lines of representatives from around Fodlan that sought her counsel or her favor. With Hubert away, the business of governance was even busier than usual, but his assistant was exceptionally skilled. That wasn’t surprising, given Count Vestra’s famous strictness.

Despite her promise to Byleth, Edelgard could often only return to the palace after nightfall, by which time their children had been put soundly to sleep. The guilt gnawed at her, but she begrudgingly accepted it as unavoidable. She’d not allow the blood spilled, the blood that she herself had spilled, for Fodlan, to go to waste.

One night, still frazzled by the day’s incessant stress, Edelgard’s nightmares found her. She was back beneath the palace, in the dimly-lit chambers where she had watched her family waste away. She was screaming, she could tell, but no one was there to hear. Her past had come to collect, and suddenly her years of experience meant nothing in the face of her greatest pains.

That was, until, slower than normal, something woke Edelgard. As her eyes flickered open, it wasn’t Byleth’s face she saw.

Instead, a purple felt canvas stared back through marble eyes, a tiny snout protruding from the stuffed squirrel’s face. As Edelgard slowly sat up, she found that she had been surrounded by small stuffed animals. 

A row of birds stood perched at the top of her headboard, while two dogs sat to her left. On her right waited a pair of bears, one very familiar, with a suit of gray felt armor. Between them, she could just make out the top of a mop of fuzzy brown hair.

“Rupert?” she whispered, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

“Momma?”

Carefully, Edelgard rose to a sitting position and reached over the side of the bed. Gingerly, she lifted the young boy on top of it, unable to keep the smile from her face at the sight of his big blue eyes and round nose. “What’s going on, dear?”

“We...we came in to see you for goodnight...and…” His eyes were wide, and the beginnings of tears lapped at the edges.

“We?” Edelgard asked. She looked to the door, and sure enough, a rather sizable stuffed horse was floating towards the bed, a pair of stubby (and rather un-horselike) legs walking for it. She stifled a chuckle. “Come here, Annalise.”

“Mama! You’re up!”

The horse tumbled to the ground as the little girl behind it ran towards the bed, her eyes wide. With a pump of her legs, she leapt up and climbed her way up the comforter and over the bedspread. She took her place next to her brother in Edelgard’s arms, looking up. “Mama, you were screaming! We tried to wake you up, but we couldn’t!”

Rupert nodded, sniffling as Edelgard’s fingers gently wiped the tears from his face. “But I remembered what Mommy said...she said you liked stuffies. So...so we got all we could, so they could protect you!”

As Annalise nodded excitedly, Edelgard felt tears come to her own eyes, a pleasant warmth settling over her entire body. “Thank you, dear ones. You did well.” She smiled. “They chased the nightmares away.”

A grin broke out across Annalise’s face, and Edelgard pulled both of her dear children close for a hug. “The animals help a lot, but do you know what I think would be even better? If you’d both snuggle up with Momma tonight. Is that okay?”

Judging by the speed at which both of the twins scrambled under the covers, it was not only okay, but perhaps the best event of the day. Giggling, she laid back down, letting them each cling to one side of her. As her children closed their eyes, Edelgard allowed relief to pour through her.

She would never be alone again.

“Where did you get all of these stuffies, anyway?”

“Aunt Bernie.” mumbled Rupert.

“Ah. I should have known…”

“The horse is from Uncle Hubert!” Annalise chipped in.

“Really? Well. That’s a tad surprising.”

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fluffy drabble I wrote last night. I hope you enjoyed it, and feedback is always welcome!


End file.
